Moonlit Vows Of Vengeance-Chapter 46: Admit It

Across the field, Luca grunted as he double landed a kick that sent him staggering back.

"You resent her," his shadow taunted. "You protect her, but you also want her dependent on you. You like feeling needed."

"Shut up!" Lucas roared, launching himself forward.

It was chaos—two battles at once, and yet the battlefield felt narrow, intimate. My muscles screamed as I blocked another downward slash. Sweat mixed with blood as a shallow cut opened along my forearm. But the real pain was the voice that never stopped.

"You’re afraid to be alone."

"You’re afraid of your power."

"You’re afraid of yourself."

"Enough!" I cried.

But she didn’t stop. Not until I collapsed to one knee, my sword trembling in my hand. My double stood over me, blade poised.

Then it clicked.

We couldn’t defeat them—not through strength.

"Lucas!" I shouted. "Say it! Say what you’re afraid of!"

"What?" he panted.

"They’re feeding off our denial. Just admit it!"

He looked stunned for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. He turned to his double and shouted, "Fine! I was jealous of Marcus! I am scared of what she means to me, because if I lose her, I don’t know who I’ll be!"

A tremor ran through the ground.

His double screamed, cracking like glass. The shadow split down the middle and dissolved into motes of light.

I looked up at mine.

"You’re right," I said slowly. "I don’t trust easily. And yes, I’m scared he’ll leave. But I’m still here. I chose to be."

The shadow paused, flickered, then let out a shriek before bursting into a thousand shards of moonlight. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Silence.

Lucas stumbled toward me. I leaned against him, breathless.

"Is it over?"

Before he could answer, the ground shifted. The stones around us vibrated as one, and from the center of the valley, the cracked earth split apart. A shrine slowly rose from the ground—silver stone engraved with sigils older than the dynasty.

Within it, nestled in a crystalline cradle, was the next fragment.

Lucas stepped forward and retrieved it, holding it out for me to see. It shimmered—a glowing sliver of the moon itself.

"We’ve got it," he said.

I looked around at the Singing Bones, the wind now silent. "And we’re still ourselves."

"Barely." He gave me a wry smile.

I smiled back.

The desert gave way to the Bleeding Marshes by morning.

Where once sand burned under our feet now the ground squelched thick with rot and mist. Trees grew withered and thin their branches bent like claws and the air smelled of rust and wet earth. I shifted my weight uneasily on the back of my steed trying to ignore how the fog seemed to whisper

"We’re close," Lucas said. His voice was lower than usual, tight with alertness. "The next fragment lies beyond this place. But no one’s made it through unscathed"

I glanced at him. "Then we’ll be the first"

He gave me a look that tried to balance a smirk with worry. "Don’t lie in here."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

Lucas dismounted and stepped onto the marshy ground grimacing. "The marsh punishes dishonesty. Speak a lie and it takes its toll—flesh blood or bone"

I dismounted carefully. "Wonderful. So honesty or death."

"Something like that."

The first few steps in the swamp were thick and slow. My boots sank. Flies buzzed and strange shapes moved beneath the water’s surface. But it wasn’t the creatures I feared—it was the whispers.

They slithered into my ears. Doubts. Half formed voices that sounded like people I knew. My mother’s voice sharp and cold. Jesse’s laugh. The King’s sneer. Lucas’s anger.

Lucas reached out grabbing my wrist. "Focus. You hear them too?"

I nodded. "Let’s move."

We pushed forward claws and fangs at the ready. From the mist dark shapes slithered but they never approached, just watched. Once something lunged from the water but I cut it down before it touched me.

We didn’t talk. We couldn’t risk the cost of a careless lie.

It took us hours to reach the heart of the marsh. There stone ruins rose from the muck and within them a blackened arch stood tall. Vines curled around it like snakes. The final stretch was clearer/

Lucas exhaled. "That’s it. The Gatekeeper waits there"

We approached together. The arch shimmered and a figure formed a woman in white robes, her face masked by silver feathers. She floated above the ground.

"Welcome seekers of the Moon Fragments" she said. Her voice echoed without sound. "To pass through the Threshold of Memory each must offer a truth and surrender a memory"

I stepped forward. "What kind of truth?"

"One that costs. One that stains. Speak it aloud and bleed it clean"

Lucas looked at me then stepped forward first.

"My truth" he said his voice hard "is that I failed to protect my younger brother during a raid. He died while I ran. I told everyone I was injured. But I fled."

The marsh went still. The Gatekeeper reached toward him and blood burst from his hand a clean slice across the palm. He gritted his teeth and bore it

"And your memory?"

He closed his eyes. "Take the scent of my mother’s fur. I can’t hold onto her image but at least I had that."

She touched his forehead. His breath hitched then steadied.

Then it was my turn.

I swallowed. What truth would I bleed?

"My truth" I said slowly "is that part of me still cares about jesse."

Lucas turned sharply his mouth open but said nothing.

Blood slipped from my lips.

The Gatekeeper hovered closer. "And your memory?"

I shut my eyes. "Take the warmth of my father’s hug."

Pain stabbed through my chest as she touched me but I stayed upright.

The Gatekeeper bowed. "You may pass."

The arch pulsed. Mist parted.

We stepped through.

Beyond the threshold the world changed. The sky cleared. The marsh fell behind us. And before us stood another fragment glowing in a pedestal of stone untouched.

Lucas reached out and took it.

It shimmered and the ground trembled.

"Come on" I said, grabbing his hand. "Let’s get out of here."